The talk is hosted at the Portland Community College Cascade Campus in the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building, 705 N Killingsworth St., Portland. The event is free, but space is limited. Reserve your seat via Eventbrite. Doors open at 6:30 pm. A book sale and signing will follow the talk.

Steve Sheinkin is the author of the 2013 Newbery Honor book Bomb! The Race to Build — and Steal — the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon; the 2014National Book Award finalist The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights; and other critically acclaimed nonfiction titles.

“I started out writing screenplays and comics, and then, because I wasn’t actually making any money, I got a job writing history textbooks,” says Sheinkin. “Now I’m trying to make amends for that particular crime by writing nonfiction books for teens that are actually fun to read.”

His other titles include Lincoln’s Grave Robbers (2012), The Notorious Benedict Arnold (2010), Two Miserable Presidents (2008) and King George: What Was His Problem? (2008).

Sheinkin recently shared some of his favorite books and movies— and an unlikely connection to the late musician Elliott Smith — with the library.